This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on December 6, 2018

KUALA LUMPUR: UEM Sunrise Bhd will be organising the annual Iskarnival festival from Dec 8 to Dec 9 at Puteri Harbour in Iskandar Puteri, Johor, to promote the local creative talent industry, while commemorating the first anniversary of Iskandar Puteri’s city status.

With the theme “Main-Main” that literally means “play” in English, this seventh edition aims to provide a platform for local initiatives and talents to explore and experiment based on the idea of play for all ages.

While it celebrates Iskandar Puteri as a hub for innovation and creativity, the festival acknowledges the significance of “play” in daily lives as the developer reckons that “play” is essential for constructing knowledge as well as the development of social, intellectual, creative, problem-solving abilities and emotional well-being.

In a media conference here yesterday, UEM Sunrise chief marketing officer Kenny Wong noted that the creative economy is shaping more Malaysian creators and artists into professionals, which will positively contribute towards the country’s overall economic well-being.

“The creative economy includes economic sectors such as architecture, arts and crafts, computer games, design, fashion, film, music, performing arts, publishing, research and design, and software production,’’ he said.

“Creative industries are a powerful force not only to fuel economic development but also to facilitate social and cultural change.”